Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson, NPR News.

This week, three new records debut in the top ten of the Billboard albums chart, including the first ever top ten hit from rising R&B singer Daniel Caesar, Son of Spurgey debuts at number four.

Brandi Carlile hits the top ten for a fifth time as Returning to Myself debuts at number seven.

It's Not That Deep debuts at number nine.

None of them could displace the season's biggest hit.

Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl holds at number one for a fourth straight week.

Stephen Thompson, NPR News.

The Life of a Showgirl sold more than 3.4 million copies in its first week.

And she landed all of the top 12 songs on last week's singles chart, led by the fate of Ophelia at number one.

This week, the album's numbers are more modest by comparison.

Still, it's sold another 101,000 copies, while she relinquishes only two spots in the top ten to pre-existing hits, led by Huntrix's Golden at number three.

As sales slow down, the life of a showgirl will become more reliant on streaming as it looks to duplicate the long chart runs of other Taylor Swift records.

But at least for this week, it would easily top the chart based on streaming alone.

Stephen Thompson, NPR News.

Taylor Swift released her new record, The Life of a Showgirl, on Friday.

Just a few days later, it's shaping up to be one of 2025's biggest hits.

The Life of a Showgirl was breaking records even before its release.

For example, it was the most pre-saved album in the history of Spotify.

Now that it's out, it's racking up new milestones.

It sold 2.7 million copies on Friday alone.